ZIP 46615 vs ZIP 46617

This side-by-side compares ZIP 46615 (South Bend, IN) and ZIP 46617 (South Bend, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 46615 has a population of 14,609 at 1,726 people per square mile, while ZIP 46617 has 9,601 at 1,428 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 46615 reports a median household income of $62,964 against $74,186 in ZIP 46617, with per-capita income of $35,247 vs $55,838. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 33.6% in 46615 and 60.3% in 46617. Poverty rate reads 13.5% vs 16.6%, and unemployment 5.3% vs 5.4% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $139,600 in 46615 versus $243,400 in 46617, with median rent of $988 and $1,479 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 63.1% vs 62.6%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.